Lord of Mushrooms is a band of great young talents from France. This band reminds me of early Dream Theater, Spock's Beard and many other premier progrock bands. They have a way of mixing their influences so that it doesn't sound "copied". Oh, and since we're talking about progressive rock band, "Seven Deadly Songs" is a theme album.

The album opener "Pride" starts with great mood and blend of different melodies. It incorporates one of the best uses of autotune I've heard in a long time. The following songs carries on the same strong lines and convinces me that Lord of Mushrooms is not an ordinary band. Julien Vallespi showcases a wide variety of feelings with his voice (Daniel Gildenlöw anyone?), Laurent James' guitars soar and resembles me of Vai's work. The fifth song "Sloth" is a really beautiful piano ballad and could have commercial success. The next song "Gluttony", brings out yet another side of the band. Drummer Mickael James' solid groove is accompanied with great bass groove from Julien Negro and on top, Quentin Benayoun's exemplary keyboard work. The last song "Legend" is divided into three parts and closes this album in true prog fashion, instrumental part, powerful sections and reoccuring themes.

The production both fails and carries this album. The mixing of this album is proficient and every single instrument has their own space in the mix. The mastering is the problem. Like on many albums today, all of the decibels (and then some) are squeezed out and and leaves no room for dynamics. Plus-side is that there's no clipping and distortion. This makes the album tiresome to listen in the long run. Actually, I had to listen to this album relatively quieter than I normally do. It was hard to decide on the production grade and thus molding the overall score took some time. I decided in the favor of music.

With this second studio album I hope they get the recognition they deserve. "Seven Deadly Songs" is a great album and can be bought blindfolded. I forgive the band if they feel "Pride" of their work.

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- TINK (February 19th, 2006)

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LINE-UP:
Vallespi, Julien: Vocals James, Laurent: Guitar Benayoun, Quentin: Keyboards, Piano & Programming Negro, Julien: Bass James, Mickael: Drums, Percussion
Producer:	James, Laurent
Mixing by:	Chesneau, Didier & Lord Of Mushrooms
Mastering by:	Mattson, Lasse

	TRACKLIST:
	01. Pride 02. Avarice 03. Envy 04. Anger 05. Sloth 06. Gluttony 07. Lust [Legend] 08. The Bewitching Air 09. The Tempest 10. Paylee Conol Length: 58:24